State of the research for health environment in the ministries of health of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS)

The paper focuses on information gathered regarding the national Research for Health (R4H) environment and the different organisational arrangements available within each Ministry of Health (MoH) for the management and governance of research. Weaknesses include inadequate funding and training of researchers in scientific and research writing, poor intra- and inter-institutional collaboration among research teams, and lack of clearly defined career paths for researchers. This article describes the R4H environment within MoH of the ECOWAS member states and outlines some possibilities to strengthen health research activities within the Economic Community of the West African States region (ECOWAS)